We sat quietly on the rooftop of our plaster-clad hotel, hands wrapped around one last glass of ouzo, patiently waiting for the moonrise. My new husband, Grif, and I had spent the last two weeks exploring Greece, and tonight we reached the final hours of our honeymoon. Travel fatigue had already set in, as well as anxiety over our early-morning flight back to South Florida. My white sandals had collected dust after tens of thousands of steps over stone streets and marble stairs, through ancient cities and seaside towns with unpronounceable names. My thoughts drifted over the memories we had collected while visiting Athens and traversing the Aegean Sea.
I looked west beyond the rooftop railing of our hotel’s outdoor bar and saw the dim outline of massive cruise ships lining the Port of Piraeus, their silhouettes darkening as the sun set behind the Athenian hillsides. Grif and I had been on one of those same ships only a day earlier, immersed in a microcosm of endless drinks, endless food, and endless fun and romance. It was the perfect way to celebrate our new marriage. I tried to lock eyes with my partner. His round, brown eyes had already turned to gold in the setting sun, my own King Midas.
The full moon was to rise at 9:15pm, according to the website we had checked earlier. I took another sip of the milky beverage in my glass, and my head felt heavy from the combination of dehydration and strong Greek liqueur. My heart did not feel heavy, though. As soon as Grif and I had arrived in Greece, the accumulated stress of newlywed life quickly lifted and was replaced with the thrill of exploring an entirely new country together.
In comparison to real-life Lexy, travel Lexy doesn’t worry about deadlines or itineraries. Instead, she is laidback and floats from one moment to the next, engaging with whatever piques her excitement. You may find travel Lexy sampling all the varieties of black olives at the local taverna, or you may find her engrossed in reading every single word on the informational sign describing the Greek Agora. Travel Lexy really knows how to “live in the moment.” Just seeing the Parthenon atop the Acropolis for the first time was an experience of truly mythic proportions.
I reached across the marble-topped table for Grif’s hand and held tightly, eternally appreciative that he not only tolerated, but genuinely seemed to enjoy most every version of me. If only I could take home a bottle of travel Lexy’s enthusiasm and hunger for life, instead of the tiny container of artisanal olive oil, already stuffed into my carry-on bag. Freed from the shackles of stress, my life force had been renewed over these past two weeks, and my heart swelled with gratitude.
I gave Grif’s hand a squeeze and sighed, knowing that our escape from reality would end soon. I looked down at my husband’s hand in mine. The smooth black of his wedding band contrasted with the sparkling brilliance of my ring. Travel Grif and travel Lexy made a good team, navigating the world together. I took a last sip of ouzo, hoping the liqueur would wash away all my fears about returning home. The glass made a satisfying clink as I placed it on the table, ice cubes clattering.
I turned around anxiously in my thin metal chair and looked behind me to the east. While it was nice to have an extended, leisurely dinner, the thought of waking up at 5:00am made me impatient for this moonrise, which was one of the last things we wanted to experience before our trip was over. This was no ordinary full moon – it was a blue moon, meaning that it was to be the second full moon this month. It seemed fortuitous that this rare astrological event was happening on the last night of our honeymoon.
My eyes searched the darkening sky. A few stars had already appeared – maybe it was Jupiter? Or perhaps Venus? Grif checked his phone again and confirmed that the moon was supposed to rise in the east. I swiveled my head around. Had we missed it? Perhaps the hotel’s terrace was blocking the view, I thought with a furrowed brow.
“There, right there!” Grif exclaimed. There was no need to worry – the moon was taking its leisurely time, slowly rising from behind the eastern hillside. An orange ball began to emerge, so bright that it outshone the LEDs on the nearby skyscraper. “Wow,” I said softly as we stood side by side on the hotel rooftop. Our once in a blue moon wasn’t blue, but was instead a glowing tangerine color, more beautiful than I had ever expected.
Grif smiled down at me and said, “I love you… so much.” The same words I had heard for five and a half years, but now they felt different. His I love yous were now infused with an understanding that no words could ever communicate the vastness of being someone else’s entire world. I smiled shyly, still getting used to this whole unconditional love thing. I was still not one hundred percent sure that real-life Lexy deserved to receive such otherworldly love.
As we watched the blue moon ascend over the now-black sky on our last night in Greece, I wondered what our future held. What other unexpected, beautiful things would unfold in our lives? In what other ways would the universe line up for us so seemingly perfectly? Perhaps other blue moon moments would come about more easily if I released all the anxieties of real-life Lexy. I kept my thoughts to myself as we took in the last night of our honeymoon.
love, Lexy
